Ex-Man Utd boss Erik Ten Hag REJECTS return to former club in bid to protect finances after being ruthlessly axed by Bayer Leverkusen

According to Telegraaf, Eredivisie side FC Twente had shown interest in Ten Hag, who previously enjoyed three spells with the club as a player. Twente have parted company with Joseph Oosting, leaving them with a void to fill in their dugout. Ten Hag has decided not to head back to his homeland, though, because joining a new club so soon after his Leverkusen sacking would severely impact his €6m (£5.2m) severance package, which equates to €100,000 (£86,631) a day.

Twente could now approach another man with strong ties to United in the form of Ruud van Nistelrooy. The former United striker coached the club on a caretaker basis after Ten Hag's sacking, and is said to be a potential candidate for the Twente job after seeing his 27-game spell in charge of Leicester City brought to a close in June.

Leverkusen collected just one point from their first two Bundesliga games of the new season, with a 3-3 draw against ten-man Werder Bremen proving to be the last straw for Ten Hag. The 55-year-old later expressed his frustration at the club's "unprecedented" decision to let him go and accused the board of failing to give him any trust.

Leverkusen moved quickly to hire former Denmark boss Kasper Hjulmand as Ten Hag's replacement. Hjulmand inspired Leverkusen to their first win of the season against Eintracht Frankfurt last week. The club are now preparing to face Copenhagen in their Champions League opener on Thursday.